The Cubs have seen enough of “The Cardinal Way,” the 95 mph heat from Shelby Miller, the legs flying at Starlin Castro and a relentless lineup that Jeff Samardzija said has no weaknesses.

Javier Baez isn’t ready to be thrown into the fire of this rivalry and perform in front of some 45,000 fans wearing red at Busch Stadium. But if the Cubs are going to close the gap in the National League Central, they need to be right on Baez and Jorge Soler, his buddy at advanced Class-A Daytona.

Baez blew up on Twitter after his four-homer game on June 10, played in the Florida State League All-Star Game over the weekend, hit a grand slam on Tuesday and homered again on Thursday night.

The kid with the Gary Sheffield bat speed – as well as the $30 million Cuban outfielder – have become bigger headlines than almost any other player inside the big-league clubhouse.

“As coaches, it’s easy to get this way. We know the media gets this way. I know the fans in Chicago get this way,” Keller said. “Everybody wants these guys to do so well and they got to realize that this is a marathon. This is not any type of sprint at all.”

Keller, who once managed Manny Ramirez in the Cleveland Indians system, has almost three decades of coaching experience in pro ball. He’s now in his 10th season in the Cubs organization, having worked as a hitting coordinator and a major-league staff assistant in 2011. He’s spent enough time in Chicago to understand the expectations.

“It’s a very, very hard sport to play,” Keller said. “We want these guys to do well, just like you sitting there writing the story and the fans sitting there spending their money for popcorn and food and wanting to cheer for the home team.

“Cubs fans are off-the-charts as far as enthusiasm goes and emotions. They want these guys to succeed, too, but we also have to be a little bit patient about things that go on when we’re talking about minor-league kids, because it’s a learning process and every level’s going to teach you something different. You just have to be able to retain that information and apply it.”

Keller has watched Baez work during batting practice, making a conscientious effort to drive the ball more up the middle and into right field, helping him stay on pitches and off-speed stuff, finding his balance and more rhythm.